I fussed at God. I asked Him for a new purpose. I put in a request for a transfer and a new position. He denied both, and sent me right back to the middle of my current purpose.

I was ready to move on. He was ready for me to stand still, and, for the longest, neither of us were willing to budge.

I caved. I decided it was time for me to be all in, so I put it all on the line until I had nothing left to give. My days ran out of time. My bank account ran out of money, and I ran out of patience. Right about then, the lights came on and it was time for me to put on a show.

***

Last year, at the end of state testing, I decided the kids needed a theme song. In my head, I sang “we ready…we ready…we ready…for y’all.” At the time, I had not heard the song in years. I reserved to play the song for test days in my classroom to get my students in the right frame of mind. That way, the LEAP (the Louisiana state test) would just be another assessment my students were more than ready to take when the time came.

As I prepped myself to present my first training last summer, my nerves were getting the best of me. While praying, the same song I vowed to use for my students the next year popped into my head, and I began to sing and dance in the hotel bathroom mirror. I sang it to myself as I walked into the room of people in Detroit whom I had never met before, and then I put on a show.

At the end of the training, I did not get applause, but God sent me white chocolate Twix, candles, and inspirational note cards as gifts.

It was then, I decided that I would use the song for myself as well. It would be my theme song, and by the end of that summer, I almost cried as I heard a young boy singing that song I had not heard in years on a commercial from the locker room floor.

God smiled and sweetly stated, “I told you we were ready.”

I took my song, and I ran with it. I prepped. I planned, but I never felt ready for show time. Yet, the lights would always come on. So I continued to sing my song to myself as I put on the best performances I had to offer always feeling like I had not done enough to get ready…always feeling like I did not really want to perform right now…always feeling like I needed a miracle to get the results I so desperately wanted to see. I never knew what was going to happen. I never knew what my boss was going to say, nor how my athletes, students, and children were going to perform.

In the back of my mind, I never had enough time to get it all done. I did not have enough time to be a good mom, and a good coach, and a good teacher, and a good blogger, and a good wife, and now God had the nerve to ask me to find new friends. When exactly was I supposed to hang out with them? I did not have time for the things He refused to take out of my purpose. How dare He add more? I would show Him. I would put on my best show with all of its brokenness and He could finally see that I was not the girl for the job and put me somewhere else. Somewhere where I could breathe for a moment, where the days were not so long and the pace was not so quick. Somewhere where the lives of children were not so intricately connected to how I was feeling on any given day at any given moment.

The results shocked me.

The track team kept winning. They won more races and ranked higher than they ever have before in the history of the school.

Then 100% of my students passed the state test. How is that for a statistic? 100% of low performing students – over half which failed math and the state test the previous years, including the special education students – passed!!!

As icing on the cake, my son came home (and still comes home) asking me what my favorite part of the day was – a habit I created so long ago, but could never remember to do consistently enough for it to stick.

God confirmed my thoughts with “living your purpose was about we. We can do anything not because you can do anything but because I can do anything. You have been placed in your position because you are the best one for the job even when you are not enough. We are enough together. I only needed your obedience. Once you were all in, once you said yes, the sky was the limit. I knew you were broken. That is why I chose you to live this life. That is why I chose you to live this purpose. I chose you because you were broken. So that people saw past you. So that people could see us. So that people could see the we in ‘we ready.'”

***

If you feel like life is getting in the way of your purpose,

If you feel like the show is starting before you are ready,

If you feel ready for a change of scenery because you are sick and tired of your current situation,

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Published by ordinarilyextraordinarymom

My name is Brittany Bonnaffons, and I feel like I should have life figured out by now. I also feel like the world judges us by unrealistic standards. I have dedicated this blog to challenging standards and instead embracing yourself for who you are - ordinarily extraordinary.
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I love the way God is working in your life! Thanks for sharing with us so we can better recognize His hand in our lives also!
“I looked at God. He smiled and said, “you’re welcome.”” Lol, Girl! I love it!! ❤

I love the fact that you point out it’s not about “me” but about “we.” And that God uses us even though we are broken and frail so that people will see past us to Him. Thanks for sharing so eloquently.

So, I’m sitting here crying because I watched the song We Ready! And I read this message with tears in my eye, and I’m thinking how GOOD God is to have you write this just when I need it. And, I think probably most everybody feels the same. Brittany, you are a woman who listens to the Lord. You kept going when you didn’t think you could. AND LOOK WHAT GOD DID! These words, sister! These words: “Once you were all in, once you said yes, the sky was the limit. I knew you were broken. That is why I chose you to live this life. That is why I chose you to live this purpose. I chose you because you were broken. So that people saw past you. So that people could see us. So that people could see the we in ‘we ready.'” THAT IS WHY! He puts us broken people in our spots, stumbling along, thinking how in the world are we going to do this, so that the world sees HIM in us. We are on a winning team with Jesus! We’re never alone. I’ve tweeted out your message, and I’m sharing it today. THANK YOU, for this inspiration, dear Brittany!

I found the message. WordPress sent it to spam for some reason!!! Still brings me chills reading it, and to know you typed it twice means that I needs to read it twice…weeks apart…because I needed the reminder.

I can honestly say…. I still don’t know what MY PURPOSE IS!!! But waiting to read you blogs has become part of my day. I love reading, but not really. Sometimes, my ADHD says a post or blog or passage or something is too long. But, my friend, i read every word is these blogs. Thanks hun….. 🙂

I know exactly how you feel Connie. I’m so happy we have reconnected after all this time here in cyberspace. Just stay in prayer love. God will reveal to you what He needs, how to live your purpose, in a way that is crystal clear for you. He knows how to get a message through.

Brittany, my first comment disappeared into cyberspace, so I’m trying to duplicate it here. I’m writing this with tears in my eyes. How did you know I would need these words today? Probably, because most everybody needs this message. God gave you this message for a wide audience, sister!! We’re all stumbling around, broken, thinking it’s impossible to do our jobs, forgetting that Jesus is alongside us. I listened to We Ready, which made me cry all the more as I watched the joy explode through those young men! That kind of joy propels us through the task. These words, sister, these words: “You have been placed in your position because you are the best one for the job even when you are not enough. We are enough together. I only needed your obedience. Once you were all in, once you said yes, the sky was the limit. I knew you were broken. That is why I chose you to live this life. That is why I chose you to live this purpose. I chose you because you were broken. So that people saw past you. So that people could see us. So that people could see the we in ‘we ready.’” Chosen because we’re broken, chosen to rely on him, chosen to partner together with the Lord! YES, sister! Thank you for this! God bless you, and congratulations on what you and Jesus accomplished by his grace!

Oh my goodness. Thank you so much Melinda. So glad you were blessed. I wonder, at times, after I pour it all out of the words even make any sense. I try to explain specific scenarios with just enough information to get the message across but not so many that I lose focus. Then I wonder if the points are all connecting properly, and before, I can convince myself that the whole thing does not make sense, God nudges me to hit publish. So I hit published and hope that my thoughts make sense to others. Thank you for your confirmation.

This is has been the theme of my life lately and I’ve been there trying to fight it, but like you said, I broke. God has been busy ever since. I’m still not ready but it is a different ball game now that I’ve focused on, “we” instead of, “me!” Thank you for being so candid and congratulations!

Miracles are very real, and we can still experience them. They are not simply things that happened in the Bible days. I chuckle when my athletes start spitting out statistics to me. I sing the song, “Impossible things are happening every day,” from the Cinderella movie with Whitney Houston and Brandy.

We may be on the other side of the country but I think we are so on the same wavelength! I’m exhausted .. I feel like God is asking too much of me in order to live into the purpose I believe He’s called me to.

But maybe this is what’s next for me. Maybe God will line it all up like He did and is doing for you as you live into your purpose. I sure hope so.

I’ve certainly come to the end of myself.. the end of my abilities, my strength. And I guess that’s when – it seems that God shows He is there making all things work together – when we are weak, He is strong!

He definitely shows up. Thankfully I have a school year so we have a definite “showtime.” But I do not have that same luxury with my kids, my blog, or next steps in life in general. So I just keep going – one foot in front of the other. Sometimes it makes sense and I see glimmers of hope. Other times nothing makes sense and I want to give up. The key for me has been to keep walking.

Congratulations on your students passing! That is awesome! On a personal note, I am behind in my blog reading, so I was deleting posts I hadn’t read and just starting where I was, today. However, I chose not to delete this post but read it. Boy am I glad I (not actually I, it was God 🙂 ) decided to read it instead! Thank you! Wonderful post that I absolutely needed to read. Thank you for living your purpose and writing about it. God Bless!

I love this post! Purpose isn’t easy, sometimes it takes you out of your comfort zone but when you know in your heart that you’re here to do something, you find a way and you get rewarded if you keep your mind and heart to open. Thank you for sharing this, it’s both encouraging and inspiring x

Thank you so much! I am so glad that you mentioned it takes us out of our comfort zone because it is so easy to say that purpose always feels easy, and this is sometimes the complete opposite of the truth.

Wow! What an inspiring piece!
Thank you so much for sharing this. God put this in my path this afternoon because I needed to read it. Keep doing what you do, because you’re rocking it 🖤
-Emily B.https://bestrongandfearless.com